at DECEMBER 13, 2012 by MARK KOLCHIN
As God beheld Adam in the first hours or days of human history, He declared “It is not good that man should be alone”. God designed the man with three intangible needs; 1) the need for leadership; 2) the need for companionship; and 3) the need for worship. Leadership was addressed as God gave Adam dominion over all of his creation. Worship was addressed, as man was given a spirit, in addition to the body and soul, to communicate and know the intimate fellowship of God and express worship back to God. Companionship, however, was still lacking in Adam’s life. It was not to be found among the animal kingdom (Gen. 2:20b).
Man was not created to be an “independent” creature, self-sufficient “alone” and “good”. Man alone was incomplete. He lacked something that could only be met in the woman – the help-meet or “completer” of man. There is only one being that can stand alone and be called good – that is God Himself. This is one of His Divine attributes. He is fully complete, totally self-sufficient, independent of all, incomparable and the ultimate of that which is good. He declares “For I am God, and there is none else, I am God, and there is none like me” (Isa. 46:9). Not so however, with Adam. He needs a companion who will make him complete.
The NT gives us a threefold commentary on the creation of the woman and establishes the Biblical perspective, unpopular in today’s culture, yet of Divine origin and design from the heart of the Master Creator of our complex beings. First, she was made “after” the man ( I Tim. 2:13); next, she was made “from” the man ( I Cor. 11:8); and finally, she was made “for” the man ( I Cor. 11:9). And yet, she was not made “inferior” to the man, from the blood, bones and flesh of the man’s side, she was made his equal. It was God’s plan that together as two they would become “one” and in that “oneness” experience an interdependence upon one another ( I Cor. 11:11-12).
You see, God never intended for man and woman to COMPETE. He wonderfully designed them to COMPLETE each other. You’ll notice the only difference between these two words, compete and complete, is the letter “L” which represents “love”. When a couple takes the “love” out of their God given role to complete each other, they will end up with a relationship of “competing” as two incomplete human beings, hungry for the intimate oneness God designed for them to have. As “one flesh” or “same flesh” they can together accomplish the will of God and experience the highest joys known to man and woman. If they reject God’s Biblical plan to complete each other, they will face the deepest of sorrows known to man and woman.
Many years ago, Matthew Henry observed “Woman was not taken from man’s feet to imply inferiority; nor from man’s head to imply superiority; but from man’s side to imply equality.” Another has said “Woman was made from the flesh surrounding man’s heart, that he might love her; and from the flesh under his arm, that he might protect her.” The Biblical roles for man and woman, though confused by the world today, are clearly taught by God in His Word. The man is to “love and protect” his wife; and the woman is to “submit and help” her husband (Col. 3:18-19). Well over half of the marriages today fail, because the “owner’s manual” is discarded and the Designer’s “operating instructions” have been ignored.
The first three names given to the bride of Adam further reveal God’s blue print for understanding the role of the woman. She is first called “female” (Gen. 1:26). This sets her apart as a uniquely different being from the “male”. This first title sets forth her UNIQUENESS as the “weaker vessel” compared to the male (I Pet. 3:7) yet specially suited for the role God has designed for her. The second title is “helpmeet” (Gen. 2:18) which sets forth her functionality or UTILITY. She is the “vine” of Psalm 128; the cord that ties the family together as she “helps” her mate and “completes” him in the areas he is lacking. Thirdly, she is called “woman” (Gen. 2:22-24). This sets forth her UNITY with her husband, as together in oneness of heart and purpose they satisfy each other and as a team glorify God.
God now takes this “completed couple” and establishes the first family unit through the institution of marriage. Marriage is both a Divine Commission and a Legal Contract, first from God’s perspective and then from the rules of society. However, as society decays and the rules of man become corrupt, God’s moral order and truth remains unchanged. The first family unit declares for us God’s requirements, one man and one woman parted only by death (Matt. 19:4-6). Anything short of this is a perversion of God’s moral standards and is sin. God has not granted man the option of “alternate life styles”. Satan, moving through the depraved condition of man’s fallen sinful flesh, is as a roaring lion seeking to devour the marriage relationship as designed by God. This ultimately undermines the foundation of the home, society and even more importantly, the Church. Let us never loose sight of Satan’s goal – the destruction of the “bride of Christ” (Rev. 12:17).
God used the woman, the bride of Adam, to “complete” His finished design for the family unit. God uses three words to call the institution of the family into being – leave, cleave, one. Leave – as there must be a “change in loyalty”; Cleave – as there must be a “commitment for life”; and One – as there must be a “compatibility for living”.
Unlike Adam, Eve was not formed from the “dust of the earth”; she was unique in her creation, not to be “compared” to Adam, nor to be in “competition” with Adam, but to be a “complement” unto Adam. In this Divine plan the woman finds her greatest fulfillment and joy, loved and protected by the one she can know as one with her. May God bless our homes for His eternal glory as we live in obedience to Him.